Taylor Mason

Class of 1974 Taylor Mason graduated from the University of Illinois in 1979, majoring in agriculture and communications. While at the University of Illinois he played varsity football, suffering a knee injury during his junior year. During and after his recuperation period he began performing as a disc jockey and comedian, developing ventriloquist skills which he incorporated into a one-man variety show. Taylor Mason earned a master’s degree in advertising in 1983 from Northwestern University, and during his time at Northwestern worked as a ventriloquist at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago. By the end of 1983 he was working full time in show business, either at Zanies or The Second City, also in Chicago. He later won the grand prize in 1990 on the nationwide talent show competition “Star Search” hosted by Ed McMahon. Taylor Mason is now one of the top ventriloquists in the world. He is a nationally known comic, regularly performing for the Disney Cruise Lines and corporations including Microsoft and Walmart. During an eleven year period beginning in 1989, Taylor Mason did more than 1,500 college shows, during which time he won two Family Entertainer of the Year Awards. He has appeared at every major comedy club in the United States, including venues in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Carnegie Hall, and the Red Rocks in Colorado, as well as the Opera House in Sydney, Australia. He has appeared on numerous television shows including “An Evening at the Improv,” “Comic Strip Live,” “Caroline’s Comedy Hour,” and MTV’s “Half-Hour Comedy Hour,” as well as the “Comedy Club Network” show, and “Comedy on Campus” for Showtime on cable television.